Manitoba sees 29 new COVID-19 cases, warns of exposures on bus, at restaurants

Manitoba public health officials have identified 29 new cases of COVID-19 as of Sunday morning.

One case previously reported on Sept. 19 was removed from the case totals. This means the total net new cases today is 28, bringing the number of cases in Manitoba to 1,586.

• 2 cases in the Interlake–Eastern health region
• 3 cases in the Prairie Mountain Health region
• 1 case in the Southern Health–Santé Sud
• 23 cases in the Winnipeg health region

Right now there are 354 known active cases and 1,216 individuals have recovered from COVID-19.

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There are currently 11 people in hospital and three people in intensive care, meanwhile, the number of deaths due to COVID-19 is 16.

Public health officials have sent a letter to parents about a possible exposure to COVID-19 at the Munroe Early Childhood Education Centre Preschool at 505 Chalmers Ave. in Winnipeg on Sept. 14 in the morning and afternoon.

The province says based on the public health investigation, close contacts have been identified and contacted directly by public health officials with advice to self-isolate.

Health officials say the centre will remain open to all other children and staff, who can continue to attend the centre in person and the centre has closed off areas used by the infected person and will not use these areas until after the space has been cleaned.

Public Health is also advising of possible exposures to COVID-19:

• Café La Scala at 725 Corydon Avenue in Winnipeg on Friday, Sept. 11 from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. and Saturday, Sept. 12 from 10 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. Public health officials say the restaurant has been closed while case investigations are underway.
• The Local Public Eatery at 274 Garry St. in Winnipeg on Friday, Sept. 11 and Saturday, Sept. 12. The province says the restaurant had been closed while public health investigations were underway but has since reopened.
• XXI Lounge at 1011 Pembina Highway in Winnipeg on Friday, Sept. 11 from 10 p.m. to 2:30 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 12 from 10 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. and Sunday, Sept. 13 from 10 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. The province says the site had been closed while public health investigations were underway but has since reopened.
• Winnipeg Transit, John Pritchard School Route S412 on Monday, Sept. 14 and Tuesday, Sept. 15 from Headmaster/Mildred to John Pritchard School from approximately 8:15 a.m. to 8:40 a.m. and from John Pritchard School to Headmaster/Mildred from approximately 3 p.m. to 3:25 p.m.

Health officials say there has been a concerning increase in the number of cases in Winnipeg, with many cases having large numbers of close contacts.

The chief provincial public health officer strongly encourages residents of and visitors to Winnipeg to focus on these fundamentals to help stop the spread of COVID-19.

Preliminary laboratory testing numbers show 1,216 on Saturday, bringing the total number of lab tests completed since early February to 164,177.

Public health officials advise the current five-day COVID-19 test positivity rate is 1.9 per cent.